Gender Confusion
by fringeperson
Summary: Haruhi is rather famous for not caring about gender differences, and that can more or less be blamed on Ranka. So, is it so unreasonable that this confuses everybody around the young Fujioka? Male!Haruhi. oneshot, don't own, complete.


In middle-school, Fujioka Haruhi had been cause for a few headaches for the teaching staff, until they'd learned to just live and let live – a lesson absorbed more quickly after their first parent-teacher evenings. The reason was this: the uniform rules stated that all students would wear the summer uniform for certain parts of the year, and the winter uniform for certain parts of the year, but it never stressed that boys would wear the _boys_ summer or winter uniform, and that girls would wear the _girls_ summer and winter uniform. So, if something happened to Haruhi's uniform, and the first spare uniform at hand that fit happened to be a girl's uniform, then that would be worn. Likewise if the first uniform to hand was a boy's uniform.

Certainly Haruhi took some care with appearance. Uniforms were always worn correctly, neatly, and were well pressed. Borrowed uniforms were returned washed and pressed and smelling faintly of vanilla, and usually with a handkerchief full of home-made-biscuits on top as a thanks. It did leave a great portion of the student population wondering if Haruhi was a boy or a girl though.

To Haruhi, it didn't matter. Dresses and trousers were both just clothes to the young student, and gender was something a person decided for themselves. The teachers blamed this on having an okama for a father.

When Haruhi applied for a scholarship to Ouran High School, a very prestigious establishment, the teachers conspired to make sure that there was no mention of cross-dressing anywhere in Haruhi's file. Let Ouran's teachers find out for themselves. Besides, Haruhi was an excellent student, despite this one quirk, and they all agreed that Fujioka-san really _did_ deserve the scholarship to the best school around.

~oOo~

Haruhi, true to nature, was clean and pressed and ever-so-tidy when arriving at Ouran on the first day of term. Okay, so the uniform had been home made, but it _looked_ right, and Ryouji and a bunch of the other okama from his workplace were having a ball making Haruhi plenty of sets of every possible version of the Ouran High School uniform.

Long brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail, contacts were in (though Haruhi was also carrying their cases and a pair of glasses for if they started to irritate), and black shoes were polished to a high sheen.

Fujioka headed through the extensive school building to the classroom for 1A, and found the one desk among all the others that had "Fujioka Haruhi" written on the name-plate at the front. Every desk had such a name-plate, though it would be removed after the first day and students expected to remember their designations. Haruhi was a little surprised to find that the name "Hitachiin" was on the desks both to the immediate left and the immediate right. With a shrug though, Haruhi discarded the thought and sat down to organise everything in preparation for the coming school day, as was habit.

Soon enough, the classroom was filled and the sensei entered. All the students rose, and the role was called. The lessons began shortly after, and Haruhi diligently took notes until break, at which point a bento and a pair of chopsticks were brought out from where they had been stashed before the sensei had appeared.

Haruhi ignored all the other students talking as they headed down to the cafeteria, more concerned with the notes that had been taken so far as, one piece at a time, the packed lunch was slowly devoured. When this review was completed, the lunch was gone, and there was still time before the next class was to begin, Haruhi went to the nearest library for some books – there was a library for each year grouping of the high school, so logically the one nearest to the 1A classroom was the library for the first year students.

There was no way, however, that Haruhi would be able to study there when classes were done for the day, if the noise level _now_ was any indication of what it would be like later. As such, Haruhi just collected the relevant books and returned to the classroom. There would be time after school was over for the day to search for somewhere to study in peace.

Classes resumed, were interesting, and more notes were taken before the final bell rang for the day, dismissing students to their homes or any club activities they might have. Haruhi ducked back into the library for a few more books, then went in search of a place to study.

What the scholarship student found instead, was the Host Club.

~oOo~

"Oh? We don't get many boys here," commented the long-legged blonde that was in the middle of all the other handsome young men – who had announced themselves to be "The Host Club" when Haruhi wandered in.

"That is Special Scholarship Student Fujioka Haruhi," a glasses-wearing boy announced, looking Haruhi up and down as he did. "You are in his class," he continued, turning to a pair of red-headed twins who Haruhi recognised. "Any details?"

The twins just shrugged, in unison. "Quiet, studious," said one. "It's only the first day Kyouya-senpai," the other added. "We don't know him well," they finished together.

The glasses-wearing boy, Kyouya apparently, pushed his wire frames a little further up his nose. "That will need to be corrected," he decided softly.

"Still, we can certainly be accommodating," the blonde one assured, getting up from his chair and walking towards Haruhi.

Haruhi was, honestly, perfectly comfortable when it came to strange people – oh, Ryouji and all his okama friends came to mind – but having strange people invade the personal bubble without either warning or permission, that was something different. Haruhi backed up into the surprisingly closed door quickly, just to get away from the taller teen who didn't seem to understand the concept of a personal bubble.

"Now, do you like the loli-shouta? The wild type? The cheeky devil type? The cool type?" the blonde asked, looping an arm around Haruhi's shoulders as he gestured to the other boys who were still standing around the chair that he had vacated. "Or perhaps you'd like to give me a go?" he offered, forcibly turning Haruhi around and rubbing a finger under Haruhi's chin.

Haruhi gently took hold of the wrist and forced it down.

"The _sane_ type," Haruhi answered firmly, simultaneously re-establishing the invaded personal bubble. If there was _one_ thing Haruhi had learned to be comfortable with after growing up surrounded by okama – and certainly there was more than one thing that had been learned – it was how to carry your own 'eye' around in the storms of life. "One who doesn't mind if I study at the same time and probably more than I talk."

A quiet "Ah," came from the tallest of the group, who the blonde had described as the 'wild type' when he'd been gesturing to them all, and he stepped forward.

The one with glasses, Kyouya, nodded. "Yes, Mori-senpai will best fit such a request."

It wasn't long though before Haruhi was being asked to actually _join_ the Host Club as a host, rather than to be a customer. Haruhi's response to this was a shrug and a "Sure, why not?"

~oOo~

A good reason to _not_ came in the form of one of the customers. She was a rather jealous creature, and more than a bit conniving and... well, low-brow, really. She stole Haruhi's bag and emptied its contents into a fountain. She left tacks on Haruhi's chair or in Haruhi's shoes. She was derisive, degrading, and generally mean-spirited in a way that Haruhi hadn't expected, though perhaps should have.

The culmination of this bit of bullying – which was as much a bid for Tamaki's attention as anything else – was when she designated Haruhi to be her host at the Club, then proceeded to upset a table and try to make it look like Haruhi had attempted to take advantage of her.

It might have worked, except that Haruhi's tie only _looked_ like a proper one, when actually it was a clip-on and came off at her pulling it when she tried to tug him down to make herself look like a victim. Upsetting the table, however, _had_ caught Haruhi, and in the resulting mess it looked a great deal more like the customer had been trying to 'take advantage' of Haruhi.

The twins were gracious enough to dump water all over _both_ of them, before Tamaki helped her up and proceeded to banish her from the Host Club. Permanently.

The girl ran out in tears, leaving a trail of water behind her as she went in search of a change of clothes.

Haruhi's uniform was _also_ soaking wet, but Kyouya obligingly called for a spare uniform in Haruhi's size.

"I apologise," Kyouya said when he presented it to Haruhi. "It's the only one they had in your size."

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, but didn't bother looking. "It's fine," was all that was said, and it was said quite honestly before Haruhi ducked into the changing rooms, grabbing a towel on the way. There was rather a lot of brown hair to dry as well after all.

Haruhi emerged, dressed in the canary-yellow dress that was the girl's uniform, and went to sit with other designates, not the least bit ruffled about the white stockings, the bow under the high collar, the slightly elevated heels, or the large, poofy _skirt_ of the thing. Or the slight swell in the chest area.

"EH!" everybody yelped at once as they spotted the host.

"Haruhi-kun is really Haruhi-_chan_?"

Haruhi negated this with a simple shake of the head. "There is some padding in the dress," was the explanation, a gesture at the chest to indicate what exactly was being spoken off. Still, that didn't seem to be totally satisfactory somehow...

"Mou," pouted the girl who had sat down next to Haruhi. "You have such nice legs..."

Haruhi chuckled. "Yes, I'm very lucky that way." It, like the answer before it, was oddly dissatisfying and felt somewhat oblique and non-committal.

Haruhi continued to wear whatever was presented by the Host Club for their 'Theme Days', never batting an eye. Haruhi was domestically capable, and demonstrated it when called upon, and never cared if the costume was masculine, feminine or utterly androgynous.

Gender was only finally and solidly determined on the day of their physical examinations – there was a distinct lack of breasts up top, and Haruhi asked one of the doctors (perhaps a bit bluntly) if there would be any need to 'bend over and cough'. One of Haruhi's customers passed out when she heard that. The doctor, in contrast, raised an eyebrow and asked what Haruhi had been up to that he might require such an examination.

_~The End~_


End file.
